Paint roller cleaner

ABSTRACT

A paint roller cleaner ( 10 ) characterized in that it includes
     a housing ( 12 ) adapted to hold a paint roller ( 24 ) therein said housing ( 12 ) being a close fit around a paint roller ( 24 );   said housing ( 12 ) having an opening ( 16 ) adapted to receive a paint roller ( 24 ) said opening also serving to collect excess paint from the roller ( 24 ) for reuse in a first cleaning action; and   external locking means ( 28 ) for securing said roller ( 24 ) in said housing ( 12 ) said locking means ( 28 ) attaching to a handle ( 32 ) of said paint roller whereby said paint roller ( 24 ) is restrained from movement relative to the housing ( 12 ) by the locking means ( 28 ); and whereby cleaning fluid under pressure is introduced into the housing under pressure to thereby effect a second cleaning action on said paint roller ( 24 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The paint roller cleaner of the present invention is used to cleanexcess paint from a paint roller after use. The cleaner of the inventionis directed to both the professional and the domestic markets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Paint rollers are widely used as a practical means of rapidly paintingany surface. The roller operated by temporarily absorbing substantialquantities of paint and releasing this under pressure in the rollingaction. Depending on the type of paint to be applied, the surface to bepainted and the desired finish a paint roller may be formed of a spongematerial or a fleecy wool fibre. Other types are rollers are used butperhaps less commonly.

However it can be observed that in most cases once the painter hasfinished the roller still retains significant quantities of paint in thenap of the roller. This presents several difficulties to the operator.Firstly, paint is expensive and is it undesirable that large quantitiesshould be wasted. There is therefore a need to retrieve as much paint aspossible from the roller for later use. Secondly, if paint is allowed todry on the roller it hardens and renders the roller useless for futureuse, again a significant cost to the user. There is therefore a need toclean the roller thoroughly for future use.

Cleaning paint from a roller presents its own set of difficulties to theuser. Paint typically includes a dispersion of finely divided particlesin solvents and pigments. Removing all traces of paint sufficient toavoid clogging the roller as described and also to avoid the riskcontaminating any future paint used on the roller has in the pastrequires very large quantities of water and can be very messy. Moreimportantly the disposal of solvents and paint waste into the domesticwaste water system is environmentally undesirable and in some locationsprohibited by legislation.

There is therefore a need for paint rollers to be able to be cleaned ina manner that minimises water usage and that confines any water orcleaning fluid for collection and separate disposal

Paint roller cleaners are known from the prior art in various forms. Theinventor of the present invention has identified a number ofdifficulties with known prior art forms of cleaners. In some instanceslarge volumes of water are used in the cleaning process thereby creatinga problem related to the disposal of the contaminated water. In otherprior art systems water is used to clean significant quantities of paintfrom a roller. This situation leads to both the disposal problems notedabove and is, of course also very wasteful of paint.

A further significant difficulty associated with known paint rollercleaning assemblies occurs as a result of the necessity of handling apaint roller charged with paint to be cleaned. In many cases, in orderto secure a paint roller in a cleaning apparatus the paint roller has tobe separated from its handle, or at least, the operator will need tograsp the roller in a way that makes close contact between the operatorand paint charged roller inevitable. The operators hands thus becomesignificantly affected by paint contamination and therefore needcleaning as well.

The present invention addresses itself to the above situation andpresents an alternative to prior art paint roller cleaners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, according to a first aspect of the present invention, thereis provided a paint roller cleaner including:

-   a cylindrical housing having an opening adapted to receive a paint    roller, said opening having associated therewith an outer flange    portion for removing paint from said paint roller, and said    cylindrical housing being a very close fit around said paint roller    for removing further paint therefrom, said removal of paint    constituting a first cleaning action on said paint roller; and-   external locking means for securing said paint roller in said    cylindrical housing, said external locking means attaching to a    handle of said paint roller whereby said paint roller is restrained    from movement relative to the housing by the locking means, and    whereby cleaning fluid is introduced into the housing under pressure    to thereby effect a second cleaning action on said paint roller.

The paint roller cleaner of the invention is thereby secured in thecleaner housing by using the locking means to secure the roller handleto the housing. The locking preferably also serves to maintain theposition of the roller with respect to the housing. Many prior artcleaner devices rely on the use of a tangential stream of water orcleaning fluid to cause a rotation in the roller which then shedsentrained water through centrifugal action. In the case of the presentinvention the paint roller is not required to move and the secondcleaning action occurs under pressure of fluid in the housing.

In a further form of the invention the position locking means includes ahook member designed to lock around and restrain a handle of a paintroller thereby securing the roller with respect to the cleaner for use.There is thus no requirement to remove the handle from the device tocomplete the cleaning operation.

In preference, the locking means is preferably located close to theopening of the housing in which the paint roller is received, therebyensuring that all of the roller is received in the housing.

Preferably, the locking means is a hook is upstanding from an outersurface of the housing and generally in line axially therewith saidwalls curving around to join one another thereby forming the hook endportion.

Conveniently, the locking means is a snap fit locking means.

Preferably, the flange is positioned perpendicular to the axis of thehousing.

More preferably, still an outer edge of the flange has a semi-circularindent serving as a scrapper that may be used to remove excess paintheld in a roller before the roller is inserted into the housing.

Preferably, said cleaner further includes a pressure relief means. Thepressure relief means may take the form of a plug with a vent openingclosed by a plug, said plug being able to be released by pressure withinthe housing.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description of apreferred embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates in perspective view a paint roller cleaner inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a further view of the paint roller cleaner of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the paint roller cleaner of FIG. 1 with a paint rollerinserted therein;

FIG. 4 shows the paint roller cleaner of FIG. 1 in cross sectional view;and

FIG. 5 illustrates a detail of the pressure relief plug.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following detailed description of the invention refers to theaccompanying drawings. Although the description includes exemplaryembodiments, other embodiments are possible, and changes may be made tothe embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will beused throughout the drawings and the following description to refer tothe same and like parts.

Illustrated in the drawings is a paint roller cleaner 10 formed inaccordance with the invention. The paint roller cleaner 10 operates toclean traditional paint rollers as used both domestically and the longerrollers used by professional painters.

The paint roller cleaner 10 includes a generally tubular housing 12having a first inlet end 14 and a second open, outlet end 16. The openoutlet end 16 is open so as to receive a paint roller therein. The inletend 14 terminates in a narrow spigot 18 that serves as appoint ofconnection for a source of cleaning fluid such as water. A seal 20ensures that a fluid tight connection is made even where the fluid ispressurized.

As will be appreciated, the many paints today are water based and hencepaint rollers are mainly cleaned in water. However, there is no reasonwhy the device of the invention could not be used with other cleaningfluids. Thus references to cleaning water in the following descriptioncan be taken to incorporate other cleaning fluids as appropriate forother paint types. Typically, therefore, the spigot 18 would be attachedto a hose or other mains water source. It will also be appreciated thatthe cleaning devoice of the invention uses substantially less water thatprior art cleaning devices and thus it is possible for the inlet 14 tobe connected to a small discrete cleaning fluid supply source.

It is convenient if the housing 12 is partially translucent, it is thuspossible for the operation of the device to be visible to the operator.

The open outlet end 16 has an outer flange portion 22 around the openend. The flange 22 extends circumferentially around the outlet end 16and is generally perpendicular to the axis of the housing 12. An outeredge of the flange 22 has a semi-circular indent 26. The indent 26serves, in use, as a scrapper that may be used to remove excess paintheld in a roller before the roller is inserted into the housing 12.

In the drawings it can be seen that the housing 12 is shaped to hold apaint roller 24 therein. The diameter of the housing 12 is very close tothat of the paint roller 24. Thus, as the paint roller 24 is inserted into the housing 12, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, any excess paint held onthe roller 24 is squeezed off the roller 24.

Thus, in a first cleaning action, paint can be removed from the rollerby scraping the roller on the indent 26 of outlet flange 22 and by theact of inserting the roller 24 into the housing 12. Paint collected inthis way is easily collected and returned to a tin or other storagedevice for reuse.

It should be noted that this action occurs simply and without the needfor the user to handle the roller 24. Thus, any contact between the userand the roller 24 is minimised, thereby reducing the opportunity forpaint to spread onto the body and clothes of the user.

The outlet flange 22 further includes therein a hook 28. The hook 28 isformed by parallel side walls 30 a and 30 b upstanding from an outersurface of the housing 12 and generally in line axially therewith. Thewalls 30 a, 30 b pass through the flange 22 and curve around to join oneanother thereby forming a hook end portion 28. As shown in FIG. 2 theroller support handle 32 is a snap fit under the hook 28.

Thus, as the roller 24 is gradually inserted in the housing 12 theoutlet flange 22 and hook 28 encounters the roller handle 32. Byrotating the handle 32 it is possible to secure the handle 32 in thehook 28 such that the roller 24 is retained in the housing 12 and isrestrained from further movement relative to the housing 12.Importantly, it can be seen that the roller positioning of the roller 24in the device 10 does not require that the operator comes into contactwith the surface of the roller 24 and only the handle 32 of the rollerneeds to be contacted.

In a second cleaning stage, therefore, a roller 24 is ensconced in thebody of the housing 12 and is retained by the hook 28. The close fitbetween the interior surface of the housing 12 and the roller 24 furtherassures the position of the roller. Cleaning water is introduced intothe device 10 through the inlet spigot 18 and under pressure forces outany paint entrained on the nap of the roller 24.

In the embodiment of the invention under consideration the device 10 isalso provided with a pressure relief plug 34, as illustrated in detailin FIGS. 4 and 5. The housing 12 is provided with a vent opening 36close to the inlet 14. A tether 38 attaches the relief plug 34 to thespigot 18 on the housing 12 and the plug 34 is, under normal conditions,used to close the vent opening 36. To ensure that the plug remains inposition it is provided with a slightly oversized end projection thatfits over the vent opening 36 securing the plug in position. In the casewhere a pressure build-up occurs within the housing 12, the plug 34 ispushed out of the vent opening 36 as shown in the dotted detail of FIG.4.

In use, the device 10 of the invention is used in a first cleaningaction to scrape any excess paint off the roller 24 using the indent 26and by the act of inserting the roller in 24 into the housing 12.

In the second cleaning stage the spigot 18 is attached to a water supplyand the water run through the housing under pressure from the roller. Itis evident that there is very little free space within the housing 12when it is occupied by the roller 24. Accordingly, the fluid in thehousing 12 is subject to pressure and penetrates the nap of the roller24 releasing the paint without needing large volumes of the fluid.

To further ensure complete removal of paint from the roller the roller24 can be released from engagement with the hook 28 and then rotated inthe housing 12. The rotation process allows the fibres of the roller tobe gently moved to ensure that all entrained paint is removed.

By observing the water emerging from the device it is possible todetermine when the paint has been cleaned from the roller.

Further advantages and improvements may very well be made to the presentinvention without deviating from its scope. Although the invention hasbeen shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practicaland preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be madetherefrom within the scope and spirit of the invention, which is not tobe limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded thefull scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devicesand apparatus.

1. A paint roller cleaner comprising: a cylindrical housing having afirst end, a second end, and a side wall extending therebetween, whereinsaid housing has a longitudinal axis extending between the first andsecond ends and said housing defines a longitudinally aligned boretherein; an inlet into the bore defined in the first end of the housingan outlet from the bore defined in the second end of the housing, saidoutlet being adapted to receive a paint roller therethrough, a planarflange extending outwardly away from the second end of the housing andgenerally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof; said flangeextending radially outwardly for a distance beyond the side wall of thehousing; where the flange has a first surface facing the first end ofthe housing, a second surface opposed thereto, and an outermost edgeintermediate the first and second surfaces and spaced a distanceoutwardly away from the side wall of the housing; and a locking memberextending generally longitudinally outwardly away from the secondsurface of the flange and beyond the second end of the housing; and aportion of the locking member is disposed at an angle to thelongitudinal axis and is separated from the second surface by a gap, andthe gap is adapted to receive part of a handle of the paint rollertherein; a vent opening defined in the side wall of the housing, whereinthe vent opening is in fluid communication with the bore; a reusableplug sized to tightly seal the vent opening against fluid loss from thebore during normal operation of the roller cleaner; and wherein the plugis pushed out of the vent opening only by excessive pressure build-upwithin the bore.
 2. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 1,wherein the outermost edge of the flange includes a concave indentcomplementary in shape to a portion of an exterior circumferentialsurface of the paint roller and adapted to engage the same.
 3. The paintroller cleaner as defined in claim 2, wherein the indent is arcuate inshape.
 4. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 1, wherein thelocking member is substantially arcuate in shape, and the gap betweenthe locking member and the second surface of the flange is substantiallyarcuate in shape.
 5. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 4,wherein a portion of the locking member extends inwardly from the firstsurface of the flange, along the side wall of the housing and toward thefirst end thereof.
 6. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 1,wherein the plug has an interior end, an exterior end and sidewallextending therebetween; and wherein the interior end is of a firstthickness and the side wall is of a second thickness and the firstthickness is greater than the second thickness.
 7. The paint rollercleaner as defined in claim 6, wherein the interior end of the plug isof a first diameter and the vent opening is of a second diameter, andthe first diameter is greater than the second diameter.
 8. The paintroller cleaner as defined in claim 7, wherein the locking membercomprises a first and second wall extending outwardly away from thesecond surface of the flange and spaced a distance apart from eachother; wherein the first and second wall taper toward each other andintersect at a tip; and wherein the gap between the locking member andthe second surface of the flange is defined between the first wall ofthe locking member and the second surface of the flange.
 9. The paintroller cleaner as defined in claim 8, wherein a portion of each of thefirst and second walls of the locking member extend inwardly away fromthe first surface of the flange and toward the first end of the housing;and the portion of the first wall is spaced a distance away from theportion of the second wall; and the distance between the portions of thefirst and second wall is substantially constant and the portions of thefirst and second walls are substantially parallel to each other.
 10. Thepaint roller cleaner as defined in claim 6, wherein the plug furtherincludes an annular flange at its exterior end and the annular flangesealingly abuts an exterior surface of the side wall of the housing thatcircumscribes the vent opening.
 11. A paint roller cleaner, comprising:a cylindrical housing having a first end, a second end, and a side wallextending therebetween, wherein said housing has a longitudinal axisextending between the first and second ends and said housing defines alongitudinally aligned bore therein; an inlet into the bore defined inthe first end of the housing an outlet from the bore defined in thesecond end of the housing, said outlet being adapted to receive a paintroller therethrough, a planar flange extending outwardly away from thesecond end of the housing and generally perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis thereof; where the flange has a first surface facingthe first end of the housing, a second surface opposed thereto, and anoutermost edge intermediate the first and second surfaces and spaced adistance outwardly away from the side wall of the housing; a lockingmember extending generally longitudinally outwardly away from the secondsurface of the flange and beyond the second end of the housing; and aportion of the locking member is disposed at an angle to thelongitudinal axis and is separated from the second surface by a gap, andthe gap is adapted to receive part of a handle of the paint rollertherein; a vent opening defined in the side wall proximate the inlet,wherein the vent opening is in fluid communication with the bore; areusable plug sized to tightly seal the vent opening against fluid lossfrom the bore during normal operation of the roller cleaner; and whereinthe plug is pushed out of the vent opening only by excessive pressurebuild-up within the bore; and a tether connected at a first end to theplug and at a second end to the housing.
 12. The paint roller cleaner asdefined in claim 11, wherein the first end of the housing narrows to aspigot which defines the inlet therein; and wherein the second end ofthe tether is received around a circumferential wall of the spigot. 13.The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 11, wherein the plug has aninterior end, an exterior end and sidewall extending therebetween; andwherein the interior end is of a first thickness and the side wall is ofa second thickness and the first thickness is greater than the secondthickness.
 14. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 13, whereinthe interior end of the plug is of a first diameter and the vent openingis of a second diameter, and the first diameter is greater than thesecond diameter.
 15. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 14,wherein the locking member comprises a first and second wall extendingoutwardly away from the second surface of the flange and spaced adistance apart from each other; wherein the first and second wall tapertoward each other and intersect at a tip; and wherein the gap betweenthe locking member and the second surface of the flange is definedbetween the first wall of the locking member and the second surface ofthe flange.
 16. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 15, whereina portion of each of the first and second walls of the locking memberextend inwardly away from the first surface of the flange and toward thefirst end of the housing; and the portion of the first wall is spaced adistance away from the portion of the second wall; and the distancebetween the portions of the first and second wall is substantiallyconstant and the portions of the first and second walls aresubstantially parallel to each other.
 17. The paint roller cleaner asdefined in claim 13, wherein the plug further includes an annular flangeat its exterior end and the annular flange sealingly abuts an exteriorsurface of the side wall of the housing that circumscribes the ventopening.
 18. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 11, whereinthe outermost edge of the flange includes an indent complementary inshape to a portion of an exterior circumferential surface of the paintroller and adapted to engage the same.
 19. The paint roller cleaner asdefined in claim 18, wherein the indent is arcuate in shape.
 20. Thepaint roller cleaner as defined in claim 11, wherein the locking memberis substantially arcuate in shape, and the gap between the lockingmember and the second surface of the flange is substantially arcuate inshape.
 21. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 20, wherein aportion of the locking member extends inwardly from the first surface ofthe flange, along the side wall of the housing and toward the first endthereof.
 22. The paint roller cleaner as defined in claim 11, whereinthe first end of the housing narrows to a spigot which defines the inlettherein; and wherein the second end of the tether is received around acircumferential wall of the spigot.